The Stronger Bond
by Lulubird
Summary: A new arrival in Mystic Falls may hold more secrets than anyone realises. After all, when it's all said and done, there's nothing more important than the bond of family. Katherine, Damon & OC.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This will be a Katherine centric story. She is just such a fantastic character and there is so much of her personality the show doesn't explore- so that's what I'm doing here. Many chapters are prewritten so be assured of reasonably quick updates (as much as life allows) and it will be a completed story. Hope you enjoy it and please remember to review if you like or have a comment. :)**

CHAPTER ONE

Figures emerged out of the forest all around them. Damon spun in a quick circle and counted them. Eight. He narrowed his eyes and tensed his body for a fight.

"Who's the leader here?" he called out to the tall statues in the darkness. A ninth figure stepped towards him, one he hadn't previously noticed. It was smaller, probably younger than the others. Stepping out of the pitch black revealed the figure to be a young, teenage girl.

"Oh you have _got_ to be kidding me!" exclaimed Damon with exasperation. He glared at the girl who gave him a cool smile. Her eyes were black in the darkness. "What are you, like seven?" he spat sarcastically at her.

"Five hundred and thirty two actually."

He raised his eyebrows in mock wonder. "Well done you."

"We don't want to cause any trouble," she called to him. There was a murmur of agreement from the circle around him. Damon glanced at them warily.

"Well your feeding habits indicate differently."

She shrugged apologetically. "We didn't realise any of us lived here. I'm sorry." He frowned suspiciously at the sincerity in her words.

Distantly he picked up the sounds of Stefan and Caroline following his trail through the woods. The girl had also heard their advancement. She turned her head slightly in their direction.

As the other vampires in the circle picked up on the sounds there was a wave of discomfort.

"Nadia," the nearest figure whispered urgently. He, like the others shifted anxiously but the girl, Nadia, stayed perfectly still.

She turned cool eyes on Damon. "How many are there?"

He shrugged casually. "Too many for my peace and quiet."

She laughed at that. It was still the laugh of a child. "We shall leave you then." Without waiting for his reply and with a wordless command to her circle, she dissolved back into the shadows, the group slowly following, until Damon was left once again standing alone in the forest. Standing alone and utterly confused by the encounter with a pack of vampires led by a child. She couldn't have been more than 15 surely.

"What is the undead world coming to?" he muttered to himself just as Stefan and Caroline burst into the clearing. They stared at him questioningly.

"We've had visitors," he muttered. Stefan glanced around them but the forest was still and silent once more.

"Do they mean harm?"

Damon shook his head thoughtfully. "No. No I think they're alright."

Stefan and Caroline looked unconvinced but Damon couldn't explain why he had faith in the word of the child leader. Perhaps it was a remaining human instinct to trust a child, though he really should know better, but he did not feel that the girl, or her pack whom she clearly had strict control over, were a threat to them.

* * *

><p>Stefan questioned Damon all the way back to the house but grumpily he deflected each question with monosyllable answers. He felt Stefan's frustration and he felt slightly stung at Stefan's distrust for his own judgement on the group. After all, he was the one who had encountered them not Stefan.<p>

On return he was surprised to see Elena and Katherine sharing the living room, albeit as far from each other as possible. They each kept a suspicious eye on the other but seemed in relative peace, reading their respective books. Elena jumped up at Stefan's return.

"What was it?" she asked eagerly. Katherine didn't move but watched them all through lowered lashes.

"Just some travelling vampires. Damon says they mean us no harm." He hooked an arm around her waist and Damon watched it with a sullen expression. He took the seat that Elena had vacated.

"I offered them coffee but they declined," he joked.

Elena gave him a dubious look but Katherine smiled.

"Well we could use some entertainment around here," she said. "I'm getting rather tired of looking at all your faces."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Well feel free to leave at any time," he smiled sarcastically at her. She gave him a withering look. "Actually they were quite interesting. Their leader was practically a child."

Stefan took a seat opposite him looking interested. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah couldn't have been more than 15 I think," Damon replied, feeling everyone's eyes upon him; it was unusual to encounter a vampire so young, let alone one in control of a pack. "Didn't catch their plans, or anyone's names, except one. One of the others called the girl Nadia."

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Katherine shiver. His eyes snapped to her but, as usual, she was hiding her thoughts well. She looked back at him with blank eyes. "Do you know a vampire called Nadia?" he demanded.

She tilted her head to the side as if thinking. He knew she was mocking him. "No...no I don't think so," he said seriously, before smiling.

He didn't rise to her teasing. "Katherine," he warned, his expression serious. Stefan was looking at her in the same way.

She sighed with irritation but turned serious. "No Damon. I do not know a vampire called Nadia."

He studied her for a few seconds. She seemed genuine, honest, but he knew better than to believe that.

"Katherine if you know something," Stefan began in a low voice, but she cut him off, rising angrily to her feet.

"I said I don't know a vampire called Nadia," she spat and marched from the room.

Damon looked at Stefan who shrugged. They were used to it.

* * *

><p><strong>Extra AN: Hi guys. This is going to be an unusual request but I love writing and therefore I obviously want to improve wherever I can. So...I've noticed a lot of people drop of reading this story after the first chapter. Those of you who are reading this and have already decided not to continue, if you are feeling kind and lovely today, would you mind sending me message telling me why? I'm extremely curious and I would love to improve on whatever your lovely selves suggest. Ta.**


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Damon dropped into a chair opposite Nadia at a table in the middle of the busy grill.

"Hello again," she said smoothly, as if she had expected to see him there.

"You said you were leaving," he replied rudely.

She swirled her straw in a glass of lemonade and glanced around the bar. "Most of my friends moved on. I had an interest in staying."

Damon leaned across the table, his expression casual but his body language firm. "There isn't room for any more vampires in this town."

Nadia wasn't intimidated by him. Once immortality was involved, the human balance of who was threatening and who wasn't completely shifted. Nadia knew she had hundreds of years on Damon, and that meant she was stronger and wiser, despite her small stature and innocent appearance.

"My two friends and I are no threat to you," she reassured him, out of courtesy alone, because if she wanted to stay there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

"See the thing is I've heard that before."

She leaned in towards him, mimicking his body language. "I haven't killed a human in 370 years and my two friends haven't killed since they joined me. We are no threat to you." She put a firm emphasis on the last six words.

Damon narrowed his eyes as he tried to analyse her. Eventually he relaxed in his chair, his familiar smirk spreading across his face. "You're a strange one," he declared, tilting his head to the side.

She smiled, relaxing too. "Five hundred and thirty-two and you think I've never been told that before?"

"So. What's your story?" Damon asked curiously.

"Uh uh. That's for another several hundred days," she teased smiling.

"Damon?" a familiar voice behind him called and he spun around to see Elena picking her way through the people.

"Elena," he drawled smoothly, his face lighting up unconsciously.

"What are you doing?" she asked, frowning, as she leant on the back of his chair.

Damon half-turned back towards Nadia, "I'm just-", but her seat was empty. He blinked in surprise at her disappearing act but in a second, and without knowing why, he lied to Elena. "Just having a lonely drink," he concluded, picking up his glass.

She frowned at him again but didn't say anything. "Come on Stefan wants to talk to you," she urged, pulling him out of his chair.

From across the room, half-hidden behind a column, Nadia watched them leave. She watched the vampire she had been talking to leave with the girl who was so similar that she could be none other than Katerina, the sister she had thought dead since 1864.

FLASHBACK

_Australian Goldfield Township 1864_

"_Miss Peters? Miss Peters?" A voice called from the front of the elegant brick house. Nadia hurriedly finished buttoning her skirt and swished down the narrow corridor into the parlour. The maid was standing with the front door open, revealing Nadia's closest confidant in the bright light of the doorway._

"_Eleanor!" Nadia exclaimed in pleasant surprise. She clattered across the wooden floor and wrapped an arm around her friend's waist, dragging her into the room. _

"_Thank-you Mary," she said politely to the maid, a girl two years younger than herself. Mary dropped a quick curtsey and disappeared from the room smiling. _

_Nadia turned back to her friend who had rid herself of her delicate lace bonnet. She tossed her matching reticule and parasol onto a table. _

"_Oh why must it be so hot out there?" Eleanor complained, lifting her netted hair and fanning the back of her neck. Arranging her crinoline and smoothing her skirts she folded herself onto a chair._

_Nadia copied her. "Well if you didn't insist on wearing your best dresses everywhere you wouldn't be so hot," she pointed out. Eleanor threw a dubious look at Nadia's own simple green skirt, filled out only by a single petticoat, and delicate white blouse._

"_We can't all look as radiant as you in our home clothes," she teased. Nadia smiled, conceding the battle. _

"_I wasn't expecting a visit from you until tomorrow," she said, glancing in the direction of the corridor to ensure they were completely alone. "We have a little excursion planned tomorrow night do we not?"_

"_Indeed," said Eleanor coolly. Although only a year older than Nadia she liked to assume an air of a mature, aristocratic lady. Suddenly a look of great concern appeared on her face and she leant forwards. "I have news Nadia. From America. A friend of mine in Virginia wrote me."_

_Nadia's lifted her head quickly. "What news?" she demanded. She didn't need to tell Eleanor of the importance of news from that region of the world. They had been travelling together now for over 300 years and although certain things would always be kept a secret, even from friends as close as Eleanor, she was well aware of the reason for Nadia's interest in the area. _

"_There has been movement against our kind there. The locals they began to suspect certain members of their community and they..." she paused, glancing anxiously at Nadia. She felt a slight shiver, knowing that Eleanor's hesitation could only signify something bad. _

"_What is it Elle. Tell me." _

"_In a place called Mystic Falls they burned twenty-seven of our brothers and sisters in the town church."_

_Nadia felt the familiar flutter of panic but she suppressed it, reminding herself that these events happened on the other side of the world and weeks ago, for it would have taken Eleanor's letter that long to arrive. _

"_I know by your tone there is more to this story than the tragic death of strangers Eleanor," she said, keeping her voice steady. _

_Eleanor nodded, her forehead creased in concern. "My friend writes me that a Katherine Pierce was among them." _

_Nadia rose quickly to her feet and walked to the other side of the room, turning her back on Eleanor. She ran nervous hands over the front of her skirt, smoothing non-existent creases, biding herself time while she processed her friends words. Although they didn't outright confirm it, it was too much of a coincidence for it not to be true. _

_There was no reason she should feel the overwhelming sense of loss that she did. She hadn't lost anything, nothing that hadn't been lost already many years before and yet it was undeniably there, deep inside, a dull ache in her heart. _

_Telling herself all the reasons why that pain was illogical she pushed down the feeling of tears rising to her eyes. She would not cry for her. _

_With effort she controlled the shivers that ran down her spine and turned back to Eleanor, placing a determined smile on her face. "What is done is done."_

_Eleanor jumped to her feet and rushed towards her, gripping her hands tight. "It might not be true Nadia. It's so hard to know what has truly happened."_

_Nadia nodded, still smiling falsely. "You are right Elle. But either way, it does not affect us. We are safe here, not even the hint of suspicion has entered these people's minds, and we have at least three years left to enjoy here before we should be moving on."_

_Eleanor still frowned but she nodded in agreement. At the sound of the clatter of footsteps on the doorstep they both hurriedly smoothed their skirts and placed warm, nonchalant smiles on their faces. When Mary let in two handsome young gentlemen and their elderly father, all three of whom greeted the girls with great affection, Nadia and Eleanor were sitting by the little table, daintily sewing a handkerchief. _


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hope you are enjoying the story thus far. There is plenty more to come and as many chapters are already written I will aim for quick updates. Having said that, next one will be in a few days as I'm going to the beach. Reviews are always lovely, even if it's to point out a flaw, because it makes me a better writer, though of course nice ones are forever appreciated. :)**

CHAPTER THREE  
>Damon didn't see Nadia again for two weeks, or the two friends she claimed to have with her. He didn't lay eyes on her but he felt that she was there and she was watching them closely. Why, he still wasn't sure, but he had an uncomfortable feeling it had to do with Elena, and as Nadia was a vampire then, probably by extension Katherine. And whenever her name came into the scene is was a bad thing.<p>

As for Katherine, she still flounced around the house and caused as much irritation as she could but thank-fully she seemed to have resigned herself to the fact that she couldn't cause open trouble in the town.

Just as Damon had decided he had had enough of being watched Nadia appeared before him as he walked across the town square. At first he was completely shocked because it was broad daylight and he had just assumed she, like most of the other vampires that kept passing through Mystic Falls, was confined to hours of darkness.

"You look surprised to see me," she commented dryly, shading her eyes against the sunlight. Quickly he recovered himself.

"Not at all. I was just thinking how long it had been since our little heart to heart." She smiled but didn't say anything. "So what's with the lurking?" he asked casually.

She gave him an innocent look. "I don't lurk."

"Uh huh." He strolled over to a bench in the shade of an oak tree and took a seat, leaning back and crossing one leg over the other. Nadia followed him but didn't take a seat. "So how do you know Katherine?" he asked abruptly.

She glanced at him sideways, her face expressionless. "I don't know anyone called that."

"Oh come now. Don't play that game. Everyone knows Katherine. I've seen you, watching Elena. And you disappeared the other night because you thought she was Katherine." He shook a knowing finger at her.

Nadia chose her words carefully. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Did you come into town to make certain she was dead?" he asked with a teasing smile.

Nadia grimaced. "No."

"Oh so you do know who I'm talking about!" Damon exclaimed triumphantly. Nadia didn't rise to his teasing, her face remained blank and her eyes cold.

"I do not know anyone by that name."

Damon watched her with interest. Nadia noticed and glared at him. "So word on the street is you have yourself a pet doppelganger then?" she teased, changing the subject and sitting down next to him.

"Oh we know our history then." Damon reached out and picked up the dark blue pendant Nadia wore around her neck. It was strikingly similar to Katherine's though different enough that it could be a coincidence.

"Actually," replied Nadia, calmly pulling the chain from Damon's fingers, "Yes, I'm interesting in history. And as you brought it up, I am in town to find out about the fire. The fire from 1864."

"What's do you want to know," Damon said bitterly, shrugging.

Nadia leaned towards him her eyes glistening. "Tell me how it happened. Tell me how they died."

Damon studied her thoughtfully for a few seconds. "Who did you know in there?" he asked softly. He knew that he was probably going to have to tell her that whoever it was hadn't died in the fire after all, only to have probably died when they got rid of the tomb vampires.

Nadia played with the necklace, twirling the chain around her finger. "No one. I'm just interested."

He raised his eye brows in disbelief and her expression immediately changed to anger.

"Fine. Don't tell me," she said sulkily in a remarkably teenage fashion, jumping to her feet and turning her back to him.

"Wait," he called. She paused but didn't look back at him. "Sit down."

She hesitated and Damon knew she was trying to make it clear to him that she was choosing to return, not in the least obeying his instruction.

With the poise of another century she returned to the seat next to Damon. He let the silence stretch for a few more moments, pretending to look in interest around the square. Nadia apparently waited calmly but he could tell she was nervous, he could hear her pulse thudding. Finally he drew is eyes to meet her, which were watching him closely.

"She's not dead," he said softly. He was a flicker of something in her eyes but she maintained her neutral expression. He was being increasingly impressed. This was a young vampire who could hold her own amongst those much older and much more intimidating in human years, and she was one who clearly kept her secrets close to her chest. Damon didn't think she ever gave anything away that she didn't want to give.

She didn't reply to him so he elaborated. "Katherine didn't die in 1864. She is still very much alive. And causing me endless trouble, as is her delightful way."

Nadia inhaled slowly and rose to her feet again, still completely expressionless, as if his words had no meaning to her. She turned veiled eyes to him. "I don't know what you are talking about," she repeated. Finally he detected the slightest of responses; in her voice was the briefest, tiniest of tremors, though he could not tell whether it was fear, anger or disappointment. Relief didn't even cross his mind.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi guys. Hope your enjoying it. Please remember, if you're even thinking about reviewing I would so unbelievably appreciate it. :)**

CHAPTER FOUR

"A party?" said an excited voice from behind where Stefan and Damon stood. They both turned to see a stunning young blonde emerging from the dark woods with a dark-haired, dark-eyed youth on her arm. The brothers instantly knew them as vampires and Damon quickly deduced they must be Nadia' companions. They both looked young, perhaps in their late teens.

The girl's eyes glowed with the reflected firelight. Stefan crossed his arms in an instinctively defensive move but Damon gave his arm a reassuring tap.

"Uninvited guests," he said coolly.

The girl ignored the frosty response and gave him a genuine smile. "We don't bite," she said playfully. Damon gave a short laugh. He could sense Stefan's confusion next to him. He didn't know that Damon knew these two were harmless, or as harmless as unknown vampires in their town came. Damon believed what he had been told, that Nadia and her friends were no threat to them, that they had other reasons for being in town, and Nadia had reassured him that she lived, and raised her friends in a peaceful lifestyle. It was a proud claim to her that she had not killed a human in centuries. Yet another oddity in the little vampire and another reason she intrigued him.

"Where is the delightful Nadia tonight?" he asked the girl. She was clearly the more dominant of the pair. From his hard-set jaw and tensed body Damon guessed the boy was a young vampire. He still battled his blood lust and he assessed the Salvatore's with distrusting eyes.

"Present," called a smooth voice from the darkness and a second later Nadia stepped from the trees, joining her friends in the circle of light. She smiled tightly at Damon. "Sorry to crash your party. We were out enjoying the night air when Eleanor saw the light and dragged Henry over. She get's drawn to pretty things." There was no malice in her teasing and the gentle slap to the arm that Eleanor gave her showed that the two had an easy, playful companionship.

"The more the merrier," he smiled, without it reaching his eyes and stepped aside. Eleanor grinned triumphantly and dragged Henry towards the group. Nadia stayed where she was, half in the shadows.

"Damon," said Stefan in a low voice. Damon turned to look at his brother and was met with a questioning, doubtful look. Damon read in that one word and one look that he was seriously doubting his brother's judgement on inviting three unknown vampires into their little group. Stefan, of course, was worried about Elena. Strange vampires rarely meant good news, and he didn't like that now there were three unknown vampires, equal numbers to their own.

"Relax brother," Damon drawled, giving him a shove. "Go and sit with your little girlfriend."

Stefan's mouth tensed in an angry line but he adhered, striding away to where Elena sat with Bonnie and Caroline.

Nadia stepped forward next to him, her arms crossed as she scanned the humans and vampires moving in and out of the flickering firelight.

"Are you looking for her?" he asked, keeping his eyes trained on the fire.

Nadia remained silent. "She chose not to grace us with her presence tonight, Katherine," he clarified. He felt her tense slightly at the name and he turned to look at her. "Does she want you dead?" he asked with delighted interest. "Ooh or do you want her dead? Or perhaps both? The thing with Katherine is that there are probably an equal number of people in each category."

Nadia turned to him, her face unreadable and her eyes flat. "I think I'll go join the bonfire," she said sweetly but firmly. Quickly she pulled herself away from his intense gaze and moved towards the place where Eleanor was rapidly making friends.

* * *

><p>It was the boy, Henry's, reaction that Damon noticed before he smelt the blood himself. Young vampires were always more sensitive to the smell. His head flew up and he licked his lips nervously. Within a few seconds Damon too could smell it and his head followed Henri's in the direction it came from.<p>

The bonfire had burnt low and the shadows around them had increased, until they all sat in a tiny island of dim orange glow amongst the dark, restless trees.

Damon saw Eleanor's hand tighten around Henri's in the slightest of movements. Nadia had seen it too and she rose to her feet from where she had been talking with Caroline.

"Elle, Henry, we should go. Now," she said softly. Damon rose to his feet in unison with the other two and Stefan quickly followed. He too had smelt the blood and heard the presence out in the woods.

As Damon watched a stranger stumbled out of the trees towards them. It was a young man, someone Damon vaguely recognised from around Mystic Falls but whose name he did not know. He would have seemed drunk, except for the deep red blood that poured from a wound on his shoulder and was slowly staining his shirt.

Damon heard Henry's low growl at the same time that he flew from the circle around the fire towards the man, his eyes black and his teeth bared.

"Henry no!" cried Eleanor and Nadia in unison. A chaos of movement erupted as both girls moved towards Henry with speed. Stefan stepped in front of Bonnie and Elena. Damon stayed where he was, the smell of blood in his nostrils.

A flash collided with Henry before either Eleanor or Nadia could reach him and two figures slammed into the trunk of a huge tree behind Damon. Stefan was tensed, ready for a battle, but Damon had a feeling he knew who it was.

Both figures crashed to the ground and he grunted as his guess was confirmed. Katherine had the boy pinned to the ground, her strength no match for his blood lust. She was hissing at him and Damon recognised her vicious look.

"My dinner," she growled. As she lunged to rip into Henry another flash slammed into them. Nadia and Eleanor had flown at Katherine and they tumbled off Henry, all trying to regain their footing as they slammed with the force of their attack into the trees.

Eleanor was the first on her feet and she planted herself between Henry at Katherine, hissing. Angry at being challenged, her pride making her especially vicious, Katherine lunged towards them but a blur that was Nadia intercepted her and they spun and crashed into a tree, Katherine pinning Nadia. She didn't even see her victim as she bared her teeth and snarled, prepared to attack.

"Katerina?" Nadia gasped, in her surprise forgetting that she was fighting for her life. Katherine started at the use of her old name and seemed to, for the first time, focus on who was in front of her.

There was a tense, silent few seconds as they stared at each other and Damon, who had stepped forward to stand a few meters behind them, watched with eager interest. Everyone else was completely forgotten as he watched their expressions, utterly absorbed.

He expected to see fear on Nadia's face but she didn't seem at all scared. Instead she was frowning with a look of horror on her face.

Katherine released Nadia from her grip as if the touch of her skin burned and she gasped as if she had consumed vervain. She stumbled away. Damon watched with wide eyes as he saw something he didn't think was possible- Katherine appearing to shrink from another vampire with fear in her eyes.

"Not possible," she breathed, her whisper breaking.

As she took another step backwards a branch underfoot cracked loudly, startling them all. It broke the intense mesmerisation between them. Damon blinked and suddenly Katherine was gone. He and Nadia were left staring at an empty patch of leaves. He lifted his eyes to meet hers but she stared straight through him unseeing.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

"What the hell was that?" demanded Stefan for the fourth time as they marched back to the house. The light atmosphere of the bonfire had evaporated and now everyone was scurrying behind Damon and Nadia towards the house. Damon was pulling a protesting Nadia along, though they both knew that if she really wanted to get free she could.

"Come in," Damon muttered out of formality as he pulled her across the threshold. Everyone else piled in behind except for Eleanor and Henry, who hovered forgotten outside.

"Um..?" Eleanor called out in a small voice. She kept one arm tight around Henry who was looking edgy and uncomfortable.

Hearing her little noise Stefan turned frowning. "Oh, right sorry. Come in," he motioned with his hand. He faced his brother again. "Damon what is going on?" His voice was raised as it only got when he was scared. Elena was glancing anxiously between the two brothers but Damon's eyes were trained on Nadia, waiting for her to answer Stefan's question.

She shrugged out of his grip and glared back with angry eyes but remained silent.

"How do you know Katherine?" Stefan demanded, ignoring Damon's warning look. He was tired of the silence and the confusion. He wanted answers, even if his brother seemed to cautious to push for them

"I don't know _Katherine_," spat Nadia angrily matching his tone. Stefan exclaimed in irritation and turned away, throwing his hands up in defeat.

To everyone's surprise it was Elena that stepped forward, her eyes studying Nadia. "How do you know Katerina?" she asked softly. Nadia's quick aversion from her gaze told her enough. She was right in thinking that Nadia hadn't been lying whenever she said she didn't know Katherine.

"Wait," said Damon, his words thoughtful. "You said you were five hundred and thirty something?"

"Thirty-two," corrected Nadia sharply. She sighed, conceding defeat in her standoff for information. She passed a tired hand over her eyes.

"Perhaps we should go," said Eleanor from across the room her eyes on Nadia. Although it was a statement she was clearly posing it as a question to Nadia's leadership. Nadia glanced at Damon and nodded her agreement. The three of them began to move towards the door when Stefan called them to wait. He shared a look with Damon, who nodded, before speaking.

"It mightn't be a good idea to go out there tonight." Katherine, was the implied word behind his sentence and they all knew it.

Nadia shook her head, dismissing their concerns. "I'm not afraid."

She went to leave but paused when Eleanor and Henry didn't follow. Eleanor looked at her sheepishly. "I think they're right," she said quietly, reaching for Henry's hand to elaborate on her words.

"Eleanor, Katherine lives here," Nadia said firmly.

"You're safer with us than on your own," Damon bargained. Stefan nodded sternly.

Eleanor released Henry and stepped close to Nadia, blocking their faces from the others. The privacy was purely instinctive as most of them in the room could still hear their hushed conversation anyway. "Nadia I know this isn't right but I think we have to trust them. You saw how she was. You remember-"

"I know," snapped Nadia but Eleanor didn't flinch.

"This could be an opportunity," she continued, undaunted. "Maybe this was a sign that's it's time to change."

Behind them Damon and Stefan frowned, confused by their conversation.

Reluctantly Nadia knew she agreed with Eleanor. She had already had the thought when Damon informed her that Katherine hadn't died in the fire. She was surprised at the amount of relief she felt at the news, and thus realised the amount of sorrow she had been blocking out since 1864. When she thought she had lost Katerina forever she actually realised that that was what she dreaded the most.

"Alright," she said quietly nodding at Eleanor.

Damon and Stefan heard and smiled grimly.

"And in the morning? Answers," stated Damon firmly, turning his back on the group and heading up the stairs.

* * *

><p>The house was completely quiet when Katherine crept back in. She had waited, hovering outside, half steeling herself, half waiting till she could hear only the sound of sleeping breaths from inside. She passed down the corridors like a shadow listening to the sound of each person or people inside. Of course it was the very last room in the corridor that she heard the sound of breathing that was both familiar and unfamiliar. Unfamiliar because she knew it didn't belong to any of the occupants of the house. Familiar because she remembered it from such a long time ago.<p>

She slipped into the room. No one could beat Katherine for silence and stealth.

The room was dark but a pale streak of moonlight illuminated enough for her to see the sleeping form in the bed. She stepped closer and realised that she was holding her breath with anticipation. She just wanted to see her face, because she half believed she had imagined the likeness. It was just some random girl who happened to look like a person who died 500 years ago.

Steeling herself she lifted her eyes to the face and felt the same surge of panic she had felt in the forest. The dark, feathery eyelashes, the slight frown as she slept, the dark curls sprawled across the pillow, they were all her. As much as she didn't believe it, didn't understand it, Katherine couldn't deny that she was looking at the sleeping form of her younger sister who had died with the rest of her family in 1492.

As she stared she didn't notice that Nadia's breathing had changed and so started with surprise when her eyes opened. They looked at each other for a few seconds, completely unmoving, before Nadia pulled herself into a sitting position and tapped the bed. Katherine watched her warily like a wild animal but eventually moved closer and perched on the edge of the bed.

"I don't understand," she whispered.

Nadia felt the hot sting of tears threatening to fall but she refused to let them. After all this time avoiding her sister she couldn't stop herself from feeling so happy at seeing her, talking to her. Her brain was reminding her of all the reasons she had spent centuries hiding from Katerina but her heart was beating hard, remembering with an ache the last time she had spoken to her as they said a tearful goodbye and their parents ripped them apart, sending their disobedient daughter to the other end of the continent.

"I'm sorry," were the only words in her mind. She never thought those were the words she would want to say to Katerina but they tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them.

Katherine's eyes looked wide and black in the gloom of the room but Nadia could read the confusion on her face. Hesitantly she reached out a hand and touched Nadia's arm, as if she wanted to make sure she was real. A great sadness grew in her eyes.

"Klaus?" It was a whisper.

Nadia nodded, understanding her single word question. Katherine wasn't sure whether the knowledge that he had not eliminated her entire family comforted her after all. She had spent so long grieving, and then so long suppressing the loneliness and guilt, but was Nadia's fate at Klaus' hands any better than death? She realised she felt more guilt knowing her actions had caused Klaus to sentence her sister to an eternity of being a vampire than an eternity of death.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed, tears starting to pour down her face. If Damon and Stefan had walked in now they wouldn't recognise her for the manipulative, cold bitch they thought they knew. They wouldn't recognise her with guilt and remorse spread across her face.

"Why have you been hiding from me?"

"I was ashamed of what I had become. I didn't want you to see me as a monster." She raised eyes that were bright with tears to her sister. "Then I was ashamed of what you had become."

Katherine pulled away, hurt flashing in her eyes. She removed her hand from her sister's arm, as if she couldn't bear to touch her.

**To be continued...**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Well folks. I have really enjoyed writing this story, especially this chapter. Which is lucky, because I am quite disheartened by the fact that no one seems to read it. Oh well, luckily for me, and for those few of you who do actually read it, that isn't the reason why I write so never fear it will continue. I'm not sure how long it will be yet, at least 10 chapters (that's what is written). So anyway, enjoy this chapter. It was one of the few times I could use my ridiculously indepth knowledge of a very limited historical period. x**

CHAPTER SIX

FLASHBACK

_August 1540, Oatlands Palace, Surrey, England _

"_Oh this gown simply is exquisite!" breathed the flushed, smiling girl as she stood in the middle of the parlour, running her hands over the soft fabric of the dress. She turned, her eyes bright with delight. "Don't you think I look ravishing Nadia?" she teased, flattering her eyelashes at the smiling girl across the room. _

_Nadia stepped forward to straighten an elaborate bow in the sleeve of the Queen's gown. "I think you don't need my testament to that fact, the gaze of every man in Court will prove so tonight."_

_Queen Catherine laughed and pulled her sleeve from Nadia's fingers, spinning in an excited circle and watching her lavish skirts fly around her. "Oh isn't this heavenly?" she laughed. _

_She was the newly wedded and bedded Queen of England and in her eyes life had reached perfection. Of course this had nothing to do with her husband, King Henry, for in fact he was almost 50 years her senior and an increasingly vile looking and smelling invalid. But for Catherine perfection lay in the bountiful and beautiful presents he lavished upon his teenage bride. For her, perfection alone was endless new gowns, dazzling jewels, darling pets and most of all, the knowledge that she was the most desirable woman in the kingdom and that when she entered the Great Hall that evening, on the arm of her ancient husband, the eyes of every man in Court would be lustily upon her. _

_Nadia smiled emptily at the girl, who was only three months older than herself and yet who already carried the crown of England on her pretty and vain little head. When Catherine had been her fellow lady in waiting to the previous queen, Anne, Nadia had liked her well enough. Kitty Howard was notoriously silly, vain, childish and selfish, but she was also entertaining and Nadia could forgive her her flaws for the simple amusement she brought. It was refreshing for Nadia to be surrounded by the giggling, childish games that Kitty played. They reminded her of the innocent summers of her early teens before the world had changed forever. And she saw no harm in Catherine's games. Yet such a child had no business being on the throne of the most powerful Kingdom in Europe. Given the power and the confidence of a Queen, Catherine Howard was an increasingly dangerous child whose sulky tantrums and desire for attention could send men and women to their deaths on the scaffold, for the King doted on his child bride and hated to see her upset. _

_A tap at the door interrupted Catherine's giggling and they both turned to look at the intruder. Eleanor stepped daintily into the room, her eyes meeting Nadia's briefly. They were new acquaintances. Nadia had known what Eleanor was the second she had arrived at Court and it had not taken Eleanor long to realise the same. Originally Nadia had felt threatened by her but soon she realised that a partnership could benefit them both. So they had traded their stories and their secret, in the knowledge that neither would reveal it as it would just as surely sign their own death warrant too. _

"_Your majesty," Eleanor dipped a low curtsey. "The Lord Hampton requests a brief audience."_

_Catherine sighed dramatically. She did not like the tiresome duties of a queen. There were other, more plain and serious people at Court to deal with these matters she didn't understand why she should not simply spend her days as the darling of England, playing games, eating sweetmeats and being adored. _

"_Must I?" she whined. _

_Eleanor bowed her head respectfully. "I'm afraid he rather insists Your Majesty."_

"_Oh, alright then. Show him into my chambers," the Queen conceded sulkily. She turned to have one last preen in the ornate looking glass before swishing from the room. Nadia fell into step behind her and signalled Eleanor to follow. As usual there was a ripple of movement wherever the young queen walked and Nadia saw her lift her head a little higher and straighten her back as she basked in the attention from all sides. _

_The doors to her audience room were thrown open and as they were announced there was a flurry of movement within the room. In one great movement everyone sank into low bows and curtseys. Peering around Catherine Nadia noticed the Duke who had requested the audience and various other Court bodies. No one of particular interest. _

"_Your Majesty," crooned the young Duke, bowing respectfully but his eyes raised to the beautiful queen. Nadia glanced away bitterly as she watched Catherine smile. A queen with any dignity and sense would never let a man greet her such, his eyes roaming hungrily over her body. But Catherine fed on such attention and she had neither dignity nor sense. She was a poor and pale replacement for the impressive women who had gone before her. Nadia had only served at Court since Henry's third wife, Queen Jane, and thus could only compare Catherine personally to Jane and her successor Anne of Cleves, but she had been in the country and in and out of Court under various names since his first wife Katherine of Aragon, and so she knew what a poor comparison Kitty was to the previous strong and powerful queens. _

_A wanton and licentious child not fit to bear the title of a Lady let alone Queen of England. _

"_Your Majesty I have a request for you," continued the Duke. Catherine remained silent. She had no interest in these matters and therefore nothing to say. She did not have the skill nor the intelligence to feign interest or knowledge. "My niece, Lady Katherine, seeks service in your Court. She is recently returned from across the seas, France, and she has heard the many praises of your court."_

_Nadia smiled cynically. She was sure the Duke's niece had heard praises alright. Undoubtedly she had heard of the harlot like lady in waiting who had seduced a King and risen to his side only to keep a court of like minded women. Catherine's was a court of seducers, opportunists and whores and had been flooded with young women who desired to follow in the Queen's footsteps, using their youth and allure to claim themselves a wealthy Duke. _

"_I would be delighted to accept your niece into my service my Lord," Catherine cooed, sashaying across the room towards the window. "Is she here?"_

_Lord Hampton bowed. "Thank-you Your Majesty. She is not at Court at present though she is eager to serve you." _

_Catherine gazed out the window, barely bothering to show interest in the conversation. "Tell her she may begin as soon as she arrives," she said in a dismissive voice. The Duke bowed, unseen by Catherine, and withdrew from the room, taking with him several of the courtiers. Nadia walked over the stand beside the Queen and followed her gaze out the window. There on the lawns below were several young gentlemen of the Court, including Francis Dereham. Catherine made no moves to hide her interest and desire in the other young men of court, this one in particular, and Nadia turned from the window in silent disgust. _

* * *

><p><em>It was three days later that the newest arrival to the ladies in waiting entered the palace. Anne Bassett was serving the Queen and Nadia had taken herself away from the giggling chaos of the Queen's chambers for a brief moment of peace. Eleanor was waiting in the hallway outside the Queen's doors when Nadia returned from a stroll in the gardens. She sprang forwards as soon as she saw Nadia coming towards her and pulled her into an alcove, out of sight of the guards.<em>

"_The new lady in waiting is here," she whispered urgently, her fingers gripping Nadia's arm. _

"_And?" replied Nadia a little irritated. The walk in the clean, brisk air had cleared her head of the childish nonsense and noise they lived in and she resented the trouble that Eleanor's tone and behaviour implied. _

_Eleanor glanced anxiously at the corridor but they were quite alone. "She's a vampire," she hissed. Nadia straightened her back but didn't say anything. Eleanor remained silent too, recognising the thoughtful look in her friend's eyes as she turned this new information over in her mind. They had been discussing moving on. Of course neither of them could afford to stay in one place too long, their inexplicable and constant youth would always raise questions. Nadia had been content to remain as long as possible in Court, they were learning to cover their feeding habits well and there was no suspicion directed towards them. Yet both girls were tired of serving the vapid child Queen and they had been contemplating the idea of moving across the continent, Russia perhaps. The presence of a new vampire at Court, one who may be far less discreet than them, almost sealed that decision. _

"_Should we leave?" whispered Eleanor, her eyes anxiously on Nadia's face. _

_Nadia nodded thoughtfully. "I think it may be a good time to move on anyway. Let's see this new lady in waiting. Is she to serve the Queen directly?"_

_Eleanor shook her head. "She claimed that she is much unused to the ways of an English court. She had been delighting the Queen all afternoon with tales of the French." Nadia raised her eye brows as the tone of Eleanor's voice. She had no doubt what nature of tales would delight Catherine. "Catherine has allowed her to observe Court for a while. She will be at the banquet tonight but not serving the Queen directly."_

_Nadia nodded again. "Alright. Let us attend the banquet tonight. I shall like to observe this new comer myself. Then we can make plans."_

_They stepped lightly into the corridor, masking their intense discussion with a girlish giggle and smiles as if they had been intimately discussing a scandal or gossip of the court, not information that could see them destroyed. _

_They entered the Queen's chambers and Catherine exclaimed delightedly at Nadia's return, pulling her over to the window to gaze over a new gown and matching pendant. _

_Nadia and Eleanor were tense that night as they entered the Great Hall and Nadia scanned the tables for the new face. In these times though there were many new faces at Court and her duties as lady in waiting kept her from noting each face. They took their seat and the meal had begun, with much jovial noise, before Eleanor, sitting beside her, nudged her arm. Nadia followed where her gaze was indicating and saw the newest vampire to Court. She gave a sharp intake of breath as she recognised the tumbling brown curls and mischievous dark eyes and she felt a sharp stab of painful memory and she looked at her sister for the first time in 50 years. _

_Just like Nadia and Eleanor had, she suspected Katerina had lied, compelled and flirted her way into her position at Court. She knew what Katerina was and she knew what she had done but it was the first time she had laid eyes on her since she had been banished to England. When he turned her, after slaughtering her family, Niklaus had made sure to whisper to Nadia what her sister was. At first she had wanted nothing more than to find Katerina. She was scared and alone and craved the only family she had left, she craved the tenderness of her older sister. But she had watched from the forest when Katerina returned to find her family dead and somehow she could not bring herself to emerge. Unable to control her blood lust and without fully understanding what was happening to her she had been hunting the towns of their region. Seeing her sister, looking so incredibly human even though she knew what she was, she realised the monster she had become and so she remained in the forest imprisoned by her shame. _

_It was not until later that she realised what folly that had been. Despite her shame she could not part from her sister. She had followed her at a distance for two years. She had watched from afar as Katerina sought revenge on the world. She watched the murder and the torture and the games her sister made from other's people lives, and deaths. Katerina, Katherine, had turned more monster than Nadia ever was because she hid it behind a pretty smile and lowered lashes. Nadia felt sick with shame and she knew she would rather die than succumb to the pain and the anger as Katerina had. So it was with bitter regret that Nadia had relented the idea of a harmonious and sweet reunion with her dear sister. _

_And so it was with concern and coldness that she watched her in the Hall flirting openly with wealthy men while their wives watched in silent resentment. And she knew that she and Eleanor must leave Court and leave England, because it was not Katherine's desire to live an undetected human life. She would wreak havoc and bring herself to the brink of exposure, for the sheer thrill of it, before leaving behind a bloody mess to start her games somewhere new._

_Nadia had spent the last 50 years avoiding her sister. She knew in her sister's mind she was dead along with her family, and for all she knew completely forgotten, and she had every desire to leave it such. _

"_What is it?" said Eleanor in a low voice, swiftly reading all the emotions passing across Nadia's face. _

_Nadia broke her gaze from her smiling sister and turned to her friend. "Do you want to continue to live as we have?" she asked seriously, keeping her face and body language calm so as not to raise suspicion from the bustling crowd around them. "Do you wish to continue living as humans? No murder, no games, no vampires?"_

_Eleanor looked alarmed at the urgency in her voice but she nodded breathlessly. _

_Nadia gave a swift glance around them. "Then we must leave. Tonight. Now."_

_She rose to her feet and Eleanor followed her. Without looking back at the crowd or the cause of their departure they both walked calmly from the Great Hall. By dawn they were standing at the railing of a trading ship as it sailed for France, watching the English coastline grow smaller in the distance. _


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews loves! :)**

CHAPTER SEVEN

"I saw Katherine slip into the house last night," said Damon lightly. Although he addressed the room his statement was clearly aimed at Nadia. Eleanor looked up sharply at his words and glared at him but he ignored her outrage. "Where is she?" he pressed, pretending to glance behind him.

"Gone," was Nadia's sullen reply. Without looking at him she rose to her feet.

"Did you kill her?" asked Damon, a little too hopefully. Elena gave him a shove to the ribs. Nadia didn't reply but she took a last sip from her glass and turned away. Eleanor and Henry rose too. "We should be going."

Damon speedily blocked her exit before she had taken two steps. "Uh uh," he said warningly, his voice light but his eyes intense. "I believe I ordered a side dish of answers with breakfast."

"The kitchen lost your order sorry," replied Nadia snarkily. She stepped around him and strode angrily from the room. They heard the front door slam behind her and her friends.

"Well that went well," said Stefan helpfully. Damon ignored him. He had an idea anyway and he didn't need anyone's help.

* * *

><p>"Well well . Missing your tomb were we?" teased Damon as he appeared in the entrance to the dark cave near the Falls. Katherine was sitting on the ground a few meters from the entrance, leaning against one wall and staring at the rough stone opposite her. She looked up startled at Damon's entrance but her initial anger at being surprised quickly faded.<p>

"How did you find me?" she sighed with less venom than usual.

Damon stepped out of the sunlight into the shadows of the cave. There was an instant drop in temperature. "Now like I would reveal that secret to you." He slid down the stone wall to sit across from her. It was a good hiding spot. The thundering sounds of water not far away blocked out any noise and it was halfway up a steep rock face, too hard to get to for humans and impossible to see from either top or bottom. "I will reveal that I may have heard a certain conversation late last night between two of my house guests and I may have deduced certain facts about their relationship."

"I don't need your comfort Damon," she sighed in her usual confidently cold manner. Damon refused to be annoyed or rejected by it though. He was beginning to see a chink in her bravado. Through Nadia he could see the smallest glimmer of emotion and feelings in Katherine's eyes and he didn't 100% buy her tough demeanour anymore. For the first time since he had ever known her, through both love and hate, he was beginning to see her as human.

She looked at him with cold eyes but he should know as well as anyone that sarcasm, cruelty and rejection were all methods one could use to protect oneself from the pain and guilt and terror of life. He realised why, even after she had ripped out his heart and pushed him away, he could never quite bring himself to drive that stake through her heart. It was because after all they did have something in common. In 1864 she might have seen him as the innocent, naive Damon but he had had the potential to become exactly as she was. Because that was exactly what he did become, exactly how she did find him all these years later. They both knew what is was to feel the pain of loss and rejection and they both had no desire to feel it again. And it was much easier to push people away with bitterness and brutality than it was to let them closer. And it was much easier to be the one controlling the game, exercising the cruelty than it was to be the victim.

Damon had changed. Elena had changed him, even if he knew he could never find complete happiness in her, he had wanted to be close to her more than he had feared the pain that inevitably came from rejection.

It was ironic really. He raged against people placing him in a box, labelling him as a lost cause, beyond the ability to love, just a selfish, careless monster. And yet he had thought to look no further than the cold, manipulative, bitchy, uncaring exterior that Katherine had built. He had wanted to believe it because it made it so much easier to hate her but he had only done the disservice to her that he had resented from other people.

Stefan and Elena had never given up on him. Despite their words they had both always believed there was something kinder behind his cruel front. Even Katherine deserved to have that.

"Loving someone isn't a weakness Katherine."

She snapped her dark eyes to him.

"I love Stefan," she said nastily, twisting the dagger she knew was still lodged in his heart. He didn't rise to her bait though. (He recognised now that it was just another way of preventing herself from having to properly feel)

"Not the same," he shook his head. Katherine made an indignant noise and scrambled to her feet, pushing off from the wall and stepping into the shadows towards the back of the cave. She was hidden from his sight but he knew she hadn't gone far, he could hear her heart beating and her gentle breathing. He waited for her to build the courage to return and he listened, pretending not to, as she forced herself to remain cold and distant and in control. She was terrified of revealing weakness in front of him.

He was on his feet too, watching the tumbling water through the entrance of the cave when she materialised from the darkness, staying half in the shadows and watching him with hard eyes.

Like a hunter he stayed still and silent until she, like a timid wild animal, stepped up beside him. They watched a bird of prey swoop low over the forest and when it was out of sight Damon turned to her.

They were standing close together with his movement he could feel her breath on his skin. With the tenderness of 145 years of love he reached out and touched her cheek. She held his gaze but he didn't see the playful smile or the delight in admiration in her eyes that he had seen on other occasions.

"I loved you once," he whispered his blue eyes boring into her.

"And I broke your heart," she reminded him gently.

"Twice," he added, with a bitter smile. "But it was worth it." He felt her shift uncomfortably at his words and he realised it felt good to say them. He didn't love her now, he probably never could again, but he wouldn't deny that once he was willing to die for her. That he did die for her.

Katherine's gaze slipped sideways and she focused on the rippling treetops outside to avoid his piercing eyes. It was perhaps the first time that she had ever relented first in their battles.

"If you spent 500 years hating someone, I don't think you can ever undo that," she said sadly.

"It depends who you are," he replied, his eyes still firmly fixed on her and their faces inches apart.

"Even for her..."

"No," said Damon quickly, realising she misunderstood him. "I didn't mean her, I meant you. It depends who _you_ are."

Her eyes flicked back to his, a small frown creasing her forehead. "What do you mean?"

He reached out again, tracing the line of her jaw with his thumb. "I fell in love with Katherine and it was she who ripped out my heart. Your sister spent 500 years hating Katherine." She went to pull away from him at his words but his steady hands on her arm stopped her. "But she loved Katerina and my guess is she would be more than willing to love her again. It just depends on who _you_ want to be."

He released her from his grip and stepped away as she watched him with glistening eyes. "It's time to decide," he said firmly before disappearing, leaving her standing alone on the edge of the great cliff drop down to the thrashing waters and jagged rocks below.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Are you Nadia?" said the black haired boy, appearing suddenly next to her. She looked him up and down suspiciously, noticing that he was about the same age as her and that he didn't look very bright.

"Who wants to know?"

He smiled brightly and the suspiciousness of his appearance was instantly dissolved. He was just a local town youth running a message. "Elena asked you to meet her at the grill at 1."

Nadia frowned, wondering why she wanted to see her and she had a sinking feeling that questions and curiosity were going to be involved. She had been slightly annoyed by Elena's perceptiveness last night and she had a habit of studying Nadia in a very disconcerting way. "Sure. Thanks," she smiled tightly back at the boy and he turned away with a casual wave, disappearing down the street.

So despite her reservations Nadia walked into the grill at 1:07 and quickly scanned the crowded room. She spotted the back of Elena in a far corner and picked her way around the noisy tables in her direction.

"You summoned?" she drawled sarcastically, slipping into the booth chair opposite her. The words died on her lips though as she looked up at the face opposite her. Katherine regarded her dismay with a twinge of pain.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Nadia muttered, rising to her feet again before she had barely sat down. Katherine grabbed at her sleeve as she went to escape and her touch halted Nadia instantly. Slowly and without looking at her sister she lowered herself back into the seat.

"I'm sorry I lied to get you here," attempted Katherine awkwardly.

"Do you impersonate Elena much?" Nadia found there was more venom in her voice than she intended. She hadn't meant to be so cold. Perhaps it was the surprise; she never reacted well to them. She knew she was going to have to talk to Katherine sooner or later but she had hoped for a bit more time to prepare her thoughts. Her defences had been lowered the previous night from the initial shock of seeing her sister in the flesh. But after Katherine had fled, with the knowledge that her sister thought her a monster, Nadia had been unable to stop her thoughts spiralling out of control. Her head had kicked back in, reminding her of all the reasons she had built up those defences in the first place. She couldn't rid herself of the image of her sister, the blood of her victims soaking into her clothes, as she bore down upon the child, the last remaining survivor of the Polish family she had just massacred, with a sadistic smile on her lips. Through the rest of the sleepless night she had had time to relive the murderous look in Katherine's eyes as she had readied to rip into Henry, and then Nadia herself.

She wasn't mentally prepared for this encounter today.

Katherine seemed unsure of herself. Her eyes were wary and she ran a nervous finger along the edge of the table. The sight in front of her contrasted so severely with the inhuman image Nadia had spent the entire night and morning reconstructing in her brain that she wondered briefly if it was in fact Elena sitting before her after all.

"Yes actually," replied Katherine with the awkward tone of a dishonest person attempting honesty for the first go in a long time. Nadia blinked, dispelling her dark thought progression and recalled the question she had nastily asked. _Do you impersonate Elena much?_ "It's been very...useful to me." Katherine glanced down at the table, Nadia would almost have thought in shame.

"Playing with people's lives still then?"

Katherine shifted in her seat in indignation and crossed her arms, her expression stony again. She was stung by Nadia's coldness. Honesty, sincerity, connection- these things did not come easily to Katherine and she was pushing herself attempting them now. Something had made her want to try, after all these years of being alone she realised she wanted to try. But she was naturally flighty and her patience and resolve weren't her strong qualities. There was a reason she had spent 500 years running whenever anything, or anyone, got too close. Her patience only lasted so long and stung by Nadia's coldness she quickly found her sarcastic, defensive barrier rising again.

"You could have let me know you were alive," she said simply, cutting to the heart of their confrontation.

"You still wear the pendant _he_ gave you?" Nadia deflected Katherine's reproach, nodding at the delicate silver pendant around Katherine's neck.

Katherine's hand flew to the pendant in a self-conscious gesture. "I needed lapis lazuli. I already had it. I didn't see the point in finding another one when this one was already around my neck," she said in a weak attempt at justification, one which Nadia didn't buy at all. She remembered the day that the handsome village youth had proudly given the pendant to Katerina. It was the same day she had tearfully told him that she was pregnant.

"Where is yours from?" Katherine asked, her turn now to divert the conversation.

Nadia wrapped a hand around the necklace, blocking it from view and she wouldn't meet Katherine's eyes. "Just...around."

Katherine frowned. "You never were very good at lying."

She received a low hiss and furious glare in response but Katherine just laughed and rocked back in her seat. She knew how to tempt Nadia's temper and that put her in a little more control.

"Fine. You want to know where it came from?" snapped Nadia, tugging the necklace from around her necklace and sliding it across the table towards her sister. Katherine caught it with a quick hand before it slid from the table. She ran a finger over the curved silver edge, feeling the remaining warmth on the metal from where it had been against Nadia's skin. She felt a hot, angry gaze upon her. "Recognise it?" Nadia said.

"No," said Katherine simply, placing it back on the table.

Nadia paused a moment for vicious effect. "It belonged to our mother. She gave it to me, after you...left."

Katherine jerked her arm out, pushing the pendant back across the table with such force that it flew from the surface. It flew into the wall and fell with a tinkle into the corner. Nadia didn't move to retrieve it.

She watched the flash of hurt anger in Katherine's eyes and realised she didn't feel the satisfaction she had intended. Instead she felt mean and petty. She took a shuddering breath to calm herself.

"I'm sorry," she said, the second time she had said that to Katherine now.

Katherine was focused on the table surface before her and didn't react at all to Nadia's words.

"I've never seen it before," she whispered. "If it was hers how come I've never seen it before?"

"It was an heirloom. She kept it safe. I'd never seen it before she gave it to me."

She waited for a response from Katherine, but receiving none, she silently slid from her seat and retrieved the necklace. She re-fastened it around her neck, running a finger over the familiar cool curve of the stone just as she had a million times before.

"There's something I need to tell you Katerina," she insisted, even though Katherine was clearly lost in her own thoughts and might as well have forgotten Nadia was there. She had been carrying this information with her for centuries, and it was it which had caused her the most regret when she thought Katerina was dead. She had felt a stab of sorrow when she thought she would never be able to tell her. It was not an ideal time now, and it was far from how she had imagined telling her, but now she realised that just because they were immortal, it didn't mean there would always be time.

Despite having had centuries to prepare the news, she hadn't ever decided on the words. Now she frowned at the table top, trying to organise her thoughts, and so she didn't see Katherine looking at her with furious eyes, bright with hot, angry tears that she refused to let fall.

"I don't want to hear anything from you," she said in a dangerously low voice, trembling with rage. "You avoided me for this long, feel free to continue doing so."

By the time Nadia had processed the words and looked up, startled, she was gone. She groaned with frustration as she looked at the empty seat and felt her short temper flaring. It had always been both their greatest flaw, how quickly it took them to lose their temper and patience. As children it had resulted in some catastrophic fights, and if they hadn't been so close, it would have ended in blood and pain many times. With their new mood magnification and ability to heal, it was a miracle either of them had survived this conversation without blood being spilt.

She cursed herself for losing her temper. She had known how much it would hurt Katerina to know their mother gave her the pendant and yet half a millennium of resentment had taken over and she had wanted to twist the knife buried in her sister's heart. Face to face, in the light of day, she had wanted to punish her for her weakness. She wanted to get revenge for the choices Katerina had made because, in her eyes, it was due to those choices that Nadia had lost her sister and spent 500 years alone.

Leaning on the table she gripped her head in her hands. It felt like it might explode with all the intensity of her thoughts. Her emotions were sliding around everywhere and it was exhausting. One minute she hated Katerina, then she hated herself, then she craved reconciliation. Over the centuries a million different scenarios had played out in her head of these moments. Sometimes they had been angry and vengeful and sometimes they had been sweet and loving. And now, in reality, she couldn't seem to grasp which of these she wanted and her head and her mouth were sending events in certain directions before she could even consult her heart.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thanks for the lovely review on the last chapter. So encouraging. Well all the chapters are finished now so it's just a matter of uploading them. Enjoy.**

CHAPTER NINE

Nadia was still sitting with her head in her hands when Stefan slid into the chair opposite her. She looked up startled and was even more surprised when she saw who it was. They had barely spoken three words to each other, most of her time had been spent with Damon, and Stefan hadn't seemed at all interested in what was going on with Katherine. She had really only seen him standing there stoically silent, sending his brother warning looks and unconsciously shielding Elena with his body every time someone moved towards them. Even with the million thoughts in her head and the complications of maintaining her defences she had detachedly observed these things from Stefan with interest and a little distain. She could tell what kind of guy he was. He was the martyr, the lover, the protector. The Hero. She had met many of them over the years and their quickness to defend a poor, fragile damsel always irritated her. When any of them had even dared to try it on her she had quickly set them in their place. But despite her own peeves she couldn't deny that he seemed like a genuinely decent guy. Though his appearance now was unexpected. She hadn't picked him as one to involve himself in other's affairs.

"I'm not going to interfere," he said, holding his hands up in defence, almost as if he had read her mind. She glanced guiltily up at him through her lashes, hoping that he hadn't in fact done that. Nothing much surprised her any more.

"You looked upset," he explained in a kind voice. Unlike his brother his eyes always matched the tone of his voice. He was much easier to read. "Damon filled me in on...matters. Anything I can help with?"

Instinctively she was suspicious but quickly she realised there was nothing but curiosity and genuinely good intentions behind his enquiry. He seemed to read her suspicion and smiled in amusement as she studied his face.

"Sorry," she shrugged apologetically, realising she had been caught out. "I'm not used to strangers taking an interest in my life." There was a hint of sarcasm to her words.

"Well, not a complete stranger."

"How so?"

"Well I've known Katherine...intimately...for a long time now. It seems to me this is just as much her matter as yours."

Nadia smiled at his awkward hesitation on the word intimately. "I don't even know where to start," she confessed with a sigh.

"You tried talking to her?" he asked frowning slightly. He crossed his arms on the table and leant in to listen intently. She liked the way he gave her all of his attention.

"Not exactly," she replied, a tinge of guilt in her voice. He looked at her in patient confusion and she sighed again. "She tricked me into meeting her here."

"Sounds like Katherine," he conceded.

Nadia nodded. "And, well, the resulting conversation didn't go so well."

"You had a fight?" he asked. It sounded so innocently sororal when he put it like that. As if they had argued over the borrowing of an item of clothing or a favourite pair of shoes.

"We had a fight," she confirmed.

"Are you angry at her?"

She sighed again, slumping slightly in her seat. "I don't know. Yes. But then sometimes no."

He laughed lightly at her confusing statement and despite her frustration she smiled too.

"It sounds just like Damon and I," he said. "Sometimes I don't know whether I love him or hate him more. Sometimes I don't think it matters. That's just what family is."

"But we're not family," Nadia said, serious again. "I don't know her at all."

He cocked his head to the side looking at her pensively. "You're more similar than you think. You both run away instead of facing things."

Nadia bristled angrily. "I'm not like here. I don't do that." She had constructed her entire existence around being more than her sister, being a better person...well, vampire.

"You mightn't kill people Nadia but you're not that different from her. You didn't like what you saw in her and you chose to spend 500 years evading her, you're own sister."

Nadia felt stung by his observation, not because she was insulted but because she could see the annoying logic in what he said. "You know what she is Stefan. Don't preach to me." Her voice was harsh and angry but she was struggling to find the adequate emotion behind them. She was struggling to keep the self-doubt from her face.

"You never gave her a chance," he persisted, apparently ignoring her angry retort and rudeness.

This time she said nothing. She sat, brooding, attempting to deflect his words but they crept through her defences and fed her doubt.

"You could have saved her," he said simply, his gaze firmly on her. She couldn't escape the intensity of his eyes or his words. She felt trapped. How could he simply say these words and suddenly 500 years of assurance and belief be ripped out from underneath her.

She realised he was waiting for her to speak. "You over estimate my ability," she said feebly.

He shook his head. "You don't need ability Nadia. I've spent many years trying to read Katherine. She rarely lets anyone see what she is truly thinking. She is a master at it. But there was always something in her eyes when she watched Damon and I. Katherine likes her games and I used to think that's all they were. Now I realise she was testing us, testing our bond, testing our love for each other."

She let his words wash over her, feeling the little seed of doubt and guilt in her heart grow. She started slightly when she felt him reach across the table and lift her chin, forcing her to meet his powerful eyes. "Half a millennium is an awfully long time to spend alone."

Nadia swallowed but it didn't remove the lump in her throat. She felt her skin burning with shame where his fingers touched her and knew he could read the guilt in her eyes. "I know," she whispered.

Gently he released her and leant back in his chair. "She's all you have left Nadia. Don't turn your back on her again."

She glared at him with bright, angry eyes that told him she knew he was right and she hated it.

"She won't change," she said, another feeble defence, an excuse.

"How do you know that?"

"Why would she change after all this time?"

"The person you talked to just now, is she the same person who you grew up with?"

Nadia hesitated from answering but her answer had popped into her brain instantly. "No."

"Katherine is her defence against the cruelty of the world, but Katerina has always been there. You are the only person left who has any hope of drawing her out. You're the only one who knows her."

She stared mutely ahead as he nodded and rose to his feet. "Wait", she called suddenly as he turned his back. He waited whilst she chose her words. "There's something I need to tell her."

"So tell her."

Nadia licked her lips nervously. "She might hate me," she said in a small voice. "...more," she added.

"What have you got to lose?" he shrugged, acting as if the answer was simple. Giving her a kind, reassuring look he turned and left her in the corner of the crowded bar, alone again.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hope you like the twist guys. Enjoy.**

CHAPTER TEN

As Nadia came to the top of the steep hillside she knew Damon had been right. Reluctantly, but with gleaming eyes, he had told her where to find the cave. He had reiterated about 20 times that he could only guess where Katherine was hiding.

"If she had any sense she wouldn't return there to sulk," he had warned. But as Nadia listened intently, and heard the soft tread of feet pacing up and down and she knew he had guessed right. And because they all knew that Katherine far from lacked sense, Nadia could only guess that a small part of her may have wanted to be found.

When she emerged on the lip of the cave she saw an empty black hole. She smelt, before she saw, the blood streaks and pools on the dusty stone floor. She tensed her body against the craving that swelled up inside her at the smell. Stepping further into the gloom she saw the human responsible for the blood, lying sprawled, unconscious against one wall. A trickle of scarlet ran down his neck.

She ran her tongue over her teeth which had emerged at the scent of the fresh blood.

"Want a bite?" said a silky voice from the darkness. Katherine slunk from the shadows, her eyes dark upon the intruder.

"Pass," said Nadia simply, turning away from the sight of the blood. "I came to talk."

Katherine watched her with cold eyes, leaning against the rough stone wall. Her hair was a mess, almost hiding her face from view, and there was a trickle of blood from her mouth. Carelessly she wiped her mouth on her sleeve, as if challenging Nadia to comment. "I don't want to talk," she said finally.

"Tough," Nadia snapped, knowing that she wasn't going to get anywhere with her if she was kind and considerate and patient. But she took a deep breath, calming her frustration, knowing too that she had to avoid an argument like their last one. It was a tricky balance to find but she knew that if she did they stood a chance.

Stefan's words had made her realise that she had to try harder. She did want to reconcile with her sister and now she was willing to work for it.

Suddenly Katherine was in her face, her eyes blazing and teeth bared. Nadia didn't retaliate but stayed perfectly still, her face expressionless. She just hoped she guessed right when she thought Katherine wouldn't kill her.

She did guess right. Katherine hissed but she made no move to hurt her. Eventually, after a few tense seconds when Nadia could actually hear the sound of blood dripping from the human's neck, Katherine pulled back, grinning wickedly and licking a drop of blood from her finger.

"I could kill you," she said sweetly. Her smiled didn't thaw the coldness in her eyes.

Nadia suppressed a shiver. "Perhaps," she shrugged, determinedly keeping her expression neutral and her body language casual. She didn't want to show weakness. "But you need to hear what I have to say."

"I don't _need_ to do anything, little sister." The last two words were mockingly cruel.

Nadia stepped back, stung, reacting more to these hurtful words than she had to a fierce hiss and bared fangs.

"Please," the word escaped her before she could stop it. She had expected a contemptuous smile or cruel laughter from Katherine but she looked equally shocked by the plea. She stopped where she was and sharp, analysing eyes flicked to Nadia, searching for the falseness or manipulation behind the word. She looked disconcerted when she was met with pleading eyes and a sincere expression. "Please. We're family," Nadia tried again.

The word family made Katherine feel sick. She spun away angrily, no longer halted by Nadia's honesty.

"We are not family!" she spat. "All of you. You betrayed me. They took my baby from me...and you let them. Then you stood by and said nothing while they banished me!"

It was the exact opening Nadia needed. She pounced on the opportunity, desperate to reveal her information before Katherine disappeared again.

"Listen to me," she begged but Katherine barely heard her. She was pacing in furious circles, her long-suppressed anger bubbling out of her.

"You betrayed me!"

It hurt just as much as she hoped it would and she momentarily lost her focus on the conversation, injury taking over as she leapt to defend herself. "I was thirteen Katerina! What could I have done?"

Blazing eyes turned in her direction. "Don't call me that!" she shouted. Shards of rock splintered across the cave as she smashed her hand into the wall. Nadia waited till the chalky dust settled around them, giving Katherine time to regain control.

"It was wrong to take your baby," she said in a steady voice. Katherine turned glistening eyes on her, her anger all exhausted. "But Papa thought he was doing the right thing,"

She expected more anger at her feeble attempt at justifying their actions but it seemed like there was to be no more shouting. Instead of the immense tension of Katherine's outrage she instead felt an overwhelming pressure in the small spaces as she watched her face crumple and a single tear finally escaped her steely resolve.

"I never even saw her face," she mumbled. Katherine had imagined her baby's face a million times, she had looked for something familiar in every infant she had ever seen, but she could never imagine a face that fitted.

Nadia took a deep breath, knowing that her next words could change everything, and she genuinely did not know which direction events could go in. She made sure she was looking at Katherine as she spoke. "I did." Katherine froze but Nadia continued, determined now. "She was so beautiful Katerina."

Katherine's mouth opened as she tried to remember how to speak. "Wha-...How-?"

"I watched her grow up."

Nadia felt increasingly nervous at the lack of Katherine's response. She had expected either a howling rage or bitter tears. Instead Katherine was looking at her with wide eyes, so dark she couldn't read the expression in them. "What?" Her voice was an incredulous whisper, as if she still partly believed Nadia was playing her. Distrust was so deeply embedded in her that even in the face of this news she couldn't release it. She daren't. Distrust was a survival mechanism, the most powerful one she had. Not just the physical distrust, the second-guessing of everyone's actions, always being one step ahead. It was the emotional distrust which had ensured her survival all these years. No one's motivations were pure. You could never believe the lovely words from someone's mouth. She had trusted once, trusted enough to love someone, and he had tried to kill her. In the end she could only trust herself. She was completely alone.

She so desperately wanted to believe what she was being told. She was closer to believing someone that ever before. That would not have been the case if it was anyone else standing before her. Yet doubt was still there, doubt still lurked behind the ache of hope.

Uneasy at the silence, Nadia continued, her tension revealing itself in her voice. "I followed Papa when he took her. I knew where she was sent and after I was turned, after I gave up on you, I found her again." With every word she piled onto the story she waited for it to break the suspense filling the small space between them. Her body and mind were wound tight, ready to react in an instant. React to what though she was increasingly unsure. "She was placed as ward to a noble, I don't know how. It was a horrible place, dark and lonely, but she was the most angelic child I had ever seen." She glanced up at Katherine, meeting her eyes with a jolt of memory. "Her eyes were just liked yours." She wasn't sure if it a safe thing to say but it had escaped her before she could analyse the risk. Behind her, her hands were braced against the stone wall, the tension causing an ache up her arms. She took another deep breath. "So I took her. I kidnapped her and we fled, she was only four years old but I fell in love with her. But I knew she couldn't stay with me. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do but I made sure she was with a good family. They were French, wealthy farmers and they loved her like their own Katerina. I went back from time to time." Nadia felt an instinctive, small smile at the memory of the child, the teenager, the woman. "She was the beauty of the village. Just like you. She married a good man. They had four children, three boys and a girl. A darling girl." Her simplistic words were exhausted. She could have talked for hours, letting the stories and memories pour from her, but she had restrained herself through the entire speech, knowing that she had to keep it as simple as possible. She hoped there would be time, later, to fill in the bare bones of the story with the tiny, sensualistic pleasures.

She waited, unconsciously counting her breaths, trying to decide what number would mean trouble. She waited, the time it took Katherine to absorb all she had said, then the time it took for her to realise Nadia didn't plan on saying any more, then the time it took her to decide the most crucial matter of all. Did she believe Nadia? Was it too much to hope that she could have this, the tiniest piece of her child, only words, after an eternity of longing? It was too large a question for her to answer standing there facing an apparently honest face. But a few words floated through the haze of doubt and confusion and she realised there was one thing she wanted to know, regardless of whether the story was true or not. Even if it was false she wanted this one piece of information to hold onto, she would imagine it was real, even if she came to know everything else was false.

"What was her name?"

There was the briefest flash of relief across Nadia's eyes. Katherine was not the only one well practiced at guarded emotions and veiled thoughts. It was due to this perhaps that she found she could read Nadia that little easier. She could read her simply because she knew the thought process behind those dark eyes would be strikingly similar to her own. She wondered if she was as easy to read and felt an unconscious shiver at the idea and knowing there wasn't anything she could do to protect herself if it was the case. With effort she focused back on the words Nadia spoke, knowing she so desperately wanted to hear them. "I told the family she was called Carine. It's French, for-"

"Katherine," she whispered. She herself had taken the name once and that unknown echo to her child gave her the strangest sense; a cold shudder down her spine and the feeling that the ground wasn't quite solid.

Nadia nodded her eyes once again fixed on Katherine's face. "Yes." Just as her sister had moments before she was realising that she could understand the brief flicker in her eyes and without knowing how she comprehended the emotions behind her expression. It was as if she was translating something and then realising she didn't speak the language, that the knowledge of the meaning had somehow simply come to her without the technical matter of translation.

"It doesn't make it alright," Katherine said, startling Nadia from her intense inspection. She blinked, a little confused by the change in her voice. It was softer, and it half matched a new look in her eyes. They weren't softer, but rather there was a lack of the cool, poised, hardness she had observed since arriving.

"I know," she conceded. She bit her lip nervously. "You can leave, you can run..." she exhaled a shuddering breath, "...you can kill me. But I had to tell you. You needed to know, whatever happens." She waited, waited for her life. She had given Katherine permission to kill her and she honestly didn't mind anymore if she did. She was tired.

"I won't ever hurt you," Katherine said quietly. It was that, Nadia's willing placement of her life in Katherine's hands which finally allowed her to consider faith. "But I need time."

Nadia caught her breath as she realised she wasn't going to die. Not today. She took a hesitant, sliding step towards the exit of the cave. "I'll leave."

Katherine understood she didn't mean just the cave and she realised she didn't want Nadia to leave the town. Now that she knew her sister could spend 500 years hiding from her she felt like the world was a much larger place than she previously thought and she didn't want to lose Nadia into its anonymity again. "Don't. Stay." Nadia hesitated. "Please," Katherine said. The word, in her own voice and with sincerity behind it, sounded strange to her ears. But she liked the way it had caused a brief, irrepressible flush of pleasure in Nadia's cheeks and eyes.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

FLASHBACK

_Southern Europe 1494_

_The carriage bounced along the narrow, rutted woodland track but even this didn't seem to upset the child. She seemed lulled by the rocking, though perhaps because she was held snug against her protector and didn't suffer from the jolts which threw the adult passengers against the sides of the cramped carriage. _

_Her large, sleepy eyes gazed up at Nadia from the folds of a warm blanket and Nadia found herself continually drawn back to them. _

"_A beautiful child," said the gentleman sitting opposite her in rapid Italian. He smiled warmly at the two of them, his eyes softened upon the child in the way that only a father's could. _

"_She is," replied Nadia in his own language, though she knew her accent would reveal her a foreigner. She returned his smile. She had to feign happy exhaustion across their journey. She would have raised much suspicion if she revealed how tensely scared she was. As they had travelled on foot, by horseback and numerous carriages she had been waiting, anticipating the sounds of an attack that meant she had been discovered. It was stressful indeed to await discovery from both the humans and vampires who hunted them. She had no illusions about the consequences for the child if Niklaus discovered she existed. She knew she could outrun and outwit their human pursuers, though even them catching up them would be a nuisance. _

"_What is her name?" the gentleman asked, clearly desiring a cheerful conversation with a pretty face about a bonny baby to break the tedium of their journey. _

_Nadia's mind raced quickly to chose an appropriate name. She had changed both their names on every leg of the journey, hoping it would help to cover their tracks. _

"_Lyudmila," she lied with an easy smile. "Named for her grandmother." _

"_How sweet. I have three myself, all boys. The youngest is about the same age. My wife and I have long desired a beautiful girl. What is your journey?"_

_Nadia met his eyes easily. Once an awkward liar, she now had little problem defrauding strangers. After all, it was lie and lie convincingly, or potential death for the two of them. _

"_Marseille. We are joining her father there, he has work as a craftsman and has sent for us."_

_The man gave a low whistle. "A long journey to make with a little babe," he commented, nodding respectfully._

"_One that will be worth it to be united as a family again," she said warmly, feeling a convenient flush in her cheeks. Of course it was not at the thought of being united with her non-existent husband; it was the flush of a still raw wound at the mention of family. The last image she held of her few family members was still fresh in her brain. The agonizing screams and bloody violence of her parents' and brother's demise not two years earlier was now joined by the sight of her sister, her last hope, a rabid monster as she preyed upon a child no older than the one Nadia now clutched to her. She closed her eyes briefly and suppressed a shudder to rid herself of the memory of the smell, the blood which drenched the pale Polish soil and Katerina's own exquisite gown as she massacred. It was the last of these sights she had been able to bear before she turned in horror and fled, turned her back on her sister and vowed never to see her again. _

_Saving this child was the last connection she vowed to have with her sister and with her former life. Now, looking down at the soft-haired head of the sleeping child she felt this steely resolution waver slightly as she recalled Katerina's tortured cry for this child the night she had been taken from her. Every time the child looked at her with her sister's own eyes or gabbled in their native language with the familiar pronunciation of their region she knew she was being drawn back to Katerina. For her own sake, and for that of the child, they had to be parted, and soon. Even if she had wanted to keep this reminder of her lost family with her it would not have been practical. Nadia had always desired motherhood, she had expected to be one of the happily wed young mothers of their town within a few years, but since her transformation it was yet another hope she had been forced to abandon. _

_Her goal now was to put as much distance between the child and Bulgaria as possible and to find her a nice home. For the previous two years with her new found ability to enter people's minds, Nadia had followed her sister's impulsive path across the Courts, noble houses and cities or Europe and she had seen and experienced the greatness of wealth and the pleasure of luxuries. She wished none of it for the child. She wished only a good home, with adequate means and a stable, happy family upon which this little angel could build a stable and happy life, free from the complications into which she had been born. It was not the child's fault that her family had turned out so, either dead or monster, and Nadia saw in her the potential for a cheerful, loving girl. She wished her to have the life which Nadia had experienced and envisioned for herself. A playful youth spent chasing village children through the green woods and catching fish in the stream. A girlhood of innocent, furtive glances across crowded cottages towards shy boys who understood their desires as little as the girls. A coming of age of courting, of summer promises, a little posy of wildflowers presented by a bashful village boy on the doorstep in the dusk of a summer evening. A simple wedding with the same wildflowers, tears from a loving mother as she kissed her daughter on the cheek. A womanhood of healthy, happy children, hard but rewarding work and easy, loving companionship. An old age of grandchildren and wisdom. A quiet, painless, peaceful death followed by a pretty grave beside a loving husband. _

_As the child wriggled against her she felt the odd sensation of the four year old embodiment of the grave in her imagination. As she watched the dark, feathery-lashed eyes slowly blink open, and a thumb emerge from her mouth, she realised that she could control very little of what life would bring this angel. But she would ensure as much as she could and God would have to protect her against the rest, for surely he must recognise the innocence of her angelic soul, despite the circumstances of her infancy. _

"_The little miss sleepy head has awoken," said the middle-aged lady seated next to Nadia in lilting Italian, leaning over to inspect the child. It was the first words she had spoken to anyone on the long journey so far, though Nadia had seen her staring at the child with longing. The regions they were travelling from were gripped by poverty and illness due to several harsh winters. There were a lot of childless mothers who travelled this path."You are lucky to have one so serene. A true angel."_

_Her words so closely mirrored Nadia's own thoughts that she looked sharply at the woman, forever suspicious. _

"_Indeed," commented the man again, distracting them both. "My oldest cried non-stop for the first two years. Nearly drove my wife and I insane. I have never seen a babe so peaceful."_

_As if to disprove him the child made a crowing noise and reached out a little hand to Nadia. "We there?" she asked in Bulgarian. She still spoke in the beautifully simplistic, halting sentences of young children. _

"_Not yet sweet," Nadia murmured, conscious of the eyes and ears of her fellow passengers._

"_Hello there sweet angel," cooed the woman, leaning in close again and smiling at the girl. The child simply blinked back at the woman, her little forehead creased in confusion. _

"_She does not speak Italian?" guessed the woman, realising the source of her silence. _

"_No. Only Bulgarian and I have taught her a few words in French." Nadia tapped the little girl's cheek gently. "Show the kind woman what you can say in French dearest," she murmured. _

_The child smiled, pleased to be able to understand again. She was naturally sociable, something that at the start of their journey Nadia had found troublesome, but now she just thought was endearing. _

"_Bonjour Madame," she said in heavily accented French with a childish giggle at the end. _

_Both the man and the woman smiled. "Bonjour chérie," she replied. She gazed at the child nostalgically, both sadness and joy in her expression._

_Abandoning the conversation the child rearranged herself on Nadia's lap, untangling herself till she faced the opposite direction and was able to pull herself up on the windowsill. Her little feet dug into Nadia's legs as she leant out the window, amazed at the dry, neat fields passing by. The moving pictures out the windows of the carriage still astonished her, even after days of travelling. With enthusiasm she waved at the ploughers in the fields and bounced and clapped excitedly when they returned her greeting with a wave or doffed cap. _

"_Bonjour Madame," she called out to every traveller they passed on the road, some of whom looked startled at the greeting. Nadia smiled. She listened to the unrestrained joy in her voice and did not having the heart to explain to her that it was not the right language, nor that most of those she were greeting were men._

_She hoped that the child, clearly a joyous, innocent creature could guarantee for herself some of the life Nadia dreamed, purely by her nature alone. She was completely untainted by the horrors of the world._

_They rumbled down the cobbled streets of their Italian destination as dusk was falling. Nadia prepared their things, wrapping the child up tight in her blanket to protect her against the chilling mist that hung in the alleys. They would only be spending one night in this little town before boarding yet another carriage which would carry them one step closer to their destination in France. _

_When they rocked to a halt she accepted the hand of the kind man as they descended the rickety steps of the carriage. Once on solid ground, with the child balanced cleverly on her hip Nadia, gave him a grateful smile. He had been kind to her on the long journey and these days more than ever she appreciated the smallest kindness from a stranger, perhaps because she needed them even less than when she had been a human, though she seemed to want them more. It reminded her that there was more to the world than the horrifying images of blood engrained in her mind. _

"_Have a safe journey," he said compassionately, giving the tousled head of the now sleeping child a quick caress. _

"_Thank-you." As he hauled up his luggage and wandered off into the darkness she glanced down at the child. She hoped that for this last little Petrova life would indeed be a safe journey. _

_**A/N: Third last chapter guys, getting to the pointy end. Hope you enjoyed this little flashback. Feel free to click that review button I'll love you forever. :)**  
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	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: This is it guys. The last chapter (sort of, there will be an epilogue). I really hope that those of you who have stuck with it have enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. It definitely hasn't been my most successful story but I reckon it's been the most enjoyable to write. So yeah. Thanks to everyone who read and especially those who reviewed. xx**

CHAPTER TWELVE

"So how did the sisterly chat go?" drawled Damon. He was reclined on the bed Katherine had claimed as her own, his arms folded leisurely behind his head.

"Get your feet off my bed," she said in a superior voice, one hand on her hip. She narrowed her eyes and glared at him. Just because Damon thought he now had a window into her past didn't mean their banter would be any less fierce. No matter what changed, Katherine would always be a spitfire, especially with Damon.

He grinned but didn't move so she sped forward and hurled him from the duvet. With a noise that rattled the windows he smashed into the closest wall. Though as she knew he would be on his feet as he hit the ground and shook his hair from his eyes, still grinning mischievously. Katherine ignored him and went to the wardrobe, pulling out luscious clothes and inspecting them.

"Technically it's my bed," he pointed out, strolling up behind her and yanking a cardigan from the hanger she held before her. He gave a disdainful scrunch of his nose at the fabric and tossed it away. Katherine sighed in frustration and as he turned away he smiled to himself, thinking that she sounded just like Elena when he annoyed her by going through her drawers. There were scarce few times you could compare Katherine and Elena.

When he turned back Katherine had stripped off her jacket and without realising it his eyes lingered on the curve of her shoulder blades, revealed by her thing black singlet. She turned and caught him looking, a wicked smile playing across her lips. She strutted towards him and he felt the usual sense of mixed panic, desire and wariness whenever she approached him with that glint in her eyes.

He pulled back slightly as she reached out a hand and stroked down his cheek, cupping his chin in an equally controlling and affectionate way.

"We can share it if you really want," she cooed softly. Then she laughed and stepped backwards and the spell was broken. He scowled at her, partly because he resented the hold she still had over him and partly because he knew that in the familiar pattern of their banter that was what came next.

"You're avoiding the subject," he said, tilting his head to the side and giving her a lopsided smile. It never took him long to regain his cockiness.

"You're the one undressing me with your eyes," she smiled, glancing at him sweetly over her shoulder. He didn't rise to the bait but felt an annoying twist in his gut as she voiced his thoughts to closely.

"So is it all family reunions and sibling rivalry now?" he asked, plopping back onto the bed. He was not going to be put off by all Katherine's tricks from finding out how their little discussion had evolved. He was eminently curious.

She leant heavily against the wardrobe and her expression turned serious as she looked at him. "Let's just say she's full of surprises, my sister." There was a tinge of bitterness to the words though not in her usual malicious way, more regretful Damon thought.

He studied her curiously, aware that there were sides to Katherine emerging which he had never even contemplated before, and he was eager to discover her. When he had been a human he had looked for her softer, compassionate, vulnerable characteristics but he had been unable to find them. He had simply attributed that to the overwhelming desire and obsession he had felt for her back then which, in his memory, had clouded reality. Everything had seemed as a dream when he had been with her. Then obsession had turned to anguished grief, followed by blind hatred. The dynamics and changes he now felt were completely unknown territory and he was deeply intrigued. Stefan was wary and worried but Damon was simply curious and took no heed of his concerns.

"So I take it she's still alive at least?" he asked, his tone casual but his eyes intense. He may be intrigued by this new Katherine but he wasn't stupid. She was still a volatile vixen and he had seen her impulsively kill enough people to know that trustful was never a word eh would use to describe her. Even if she became a saint he would probably still be waiting for the other shoe to drop, eventually.

Katherine flicked him a dark, irritated gaze. 'You're an idiot," was what he read it as. He would take that as answer enough.

"Should I expect another house guest then?" he sighed. For the recluses he and Stefan had painted themselves as, their house sure seemed to be crowded these days.

"If you were I'd take the room in the south-east corner," said a quiet voice from the doorway. Katherine spun at the sound and Damon looked up, a wide grin following his surprise.

"Pretty sure that one has mice," he commented. Katherine threw him another irritated gaze. He guessed she didn't like his confidence with the situation. He ignored her completely. "So you two worked it out then?"

Nadia glanced at Katherine, waiting for her to answer. Damon raised his eyebrows in interest at the slight tension between the two.

Katherine refused to answer Damon's teasing intrusion, she rolled her eyes and turned her back to him, making a show out of checking her hair in the mirror. He couldn't help but laugh. It was just so typically Katherine.

"Mice. Is that your version of a breath mint on the pillow?" Nadia asked after a moment, realising Katherine wasn't going to grace Damon with a response. He laughed again at her snide comment.

"So...shall I tell Stefan we have one more guest?" he asked, rolling off the bed and landing lightly on his feet.

Katherine opened her mouth to say something but Nadia cut her off. "I said _if_ I were staying," she corrected. Katherine looked back at her confused and Damon raised his eye brows in interest.

"You're leaving?"

Nadia smiled slyly. "Well, we haven't exactly spent a lot of time together recently Katerina dearest. I thought it might be wise to _ease_ ourselves back into friendship. So I don't accidently kill you when you steal my hairdryer...or whatever sisters are meant to fight about these days."

In a blur Katherine had her pinned against the wall, a small table and lamp crashing out of their way in a mess of broken timber and ceramics. She gripped her by the throat, her eyes black and fangs bared. "Oh I don't think I should be worried about _you_ killing _me_," she hissed.

This time it was a book case's time to crash to the ground as Nadia threw her sister off, reversing their roles against another wall. Tattered hardbacks with ripped pages and broken spines littered the floor around them. "You want to bet your life on that?" Nadia whispered.

Damon looked on in shock, his hands raised ridiculously in the air in defence. The exchange happened to quickly even for him to follow properly.

"Um..." he attempted, completely unsure how to ensure no one died. He needn't have bothered. A second later Nadia burst out laughing and stepped back, releasing Katherine from her grip. Katherine smiled and flipped her hair over her shoulder. With a start Damon realised it was all just a game.

"Ugh...women," he muttered, kicking a book out of his way as he headed towards the door. Both girls broke from their amusement and gave him a scathing look as he exited the room. They could hear him muttering under his breath as he clattered down the stairs.

"He is _so_ much fun," smiled Nadia, grabbing one of the books from the floor and flicking through its pages carelessly. With one hand she easily righted the tall bookcase and placed the single hardcover on a shelf. Meticulously she straightened it.

"So you're really going to leave again?" Katherine asked in a quiet voice. Nadia didn't turn but ran her fingers over the frayed edges of the book.

"We both know it would be better," she replied.

Katherine glanced down at the ground and clenched her teeth, annoyed at the fact she agreed.

Nadia turned and leant against the shelves, an apologetic smile on her lips. "Just for now. I'll be back to annoy you don't worry."

Katherine laughed despite herself. "Promise?"

Nadia skipped forward in such a childlike way that Katherine was reminded just how young she really was, despite all her years walking the earth. Before she could protest she felt firm arms wrap around her neck in a hug. She was frozen startled for a few seconds. Hugging was completely un-Katherine. But with her sister's tousled hair pressed against her cheek she found herself smiling and hugging back. Who knew something so simple could cause such an ache of loss. No one had touched her in this way, with such tenderness, in such a very long time.

"Promise," Nadia muttered, her voice muffled by Katherine's shoulder.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Here is it folks. The last and final chapter.**

EPILOGUE

_Mystic Falls, One year later_

"_This music is terrible," moaned Elena as Matt brought them over their drinks. Stefan laughed, his arm slung casually over the back of the chair. _

_Matt shrugged apologetically, though a smile on his face. "Manager's choice sorry." _

"_Hello children." Damon slipped into the chair opposite Elena and plucked Stefan's drink from his fingers. _

"_Hey!" said Stefan. Damon smirked and took a swig. _

"_So, what are you kids up to tonight?" he asked disinterestedly, throwing a glance around the crowded bar. _

"_We," said Stefan in an annoyed voice, reaching across and claiming his drink back, "are on a date."_

_Damon's eyes flashed and a sly grin spread across his face. "Ooh cosy."_

_Elena sighed and leant across the table, clasping her hands on the table before her. Damon leant in to meet her halfway. _

"_Damon," she whispered, fluttering her eyelashes. _

"_Yeess?" he drawled, the cocky smile still in place. _

"_What Stefan means to say is...bugger off."_

_She tapped him sharply on the nose and leant back into Stefan, feeling his arm wrap around her shoulders. She smiled smugly at him. _

"_Fine," he sighed, pulling himself out of the chair. "But I know you secretly want me." _

_It was such a familiar conversation that no one even bothered replying to him._

"_Stefan!" called an excited voice as a brunette bounced over to the table. Damon frowned, his eyes flicking up and down the newcomer. _

"_Playing the field are we brother?"_

_Stefan ignored him. "What's up Claire?" he asked the girl from his chem class. _

"_I've got a message for you," she said breathlessly, throwing a nervous sideways glance at Damon, who was leering at her alarmingly. _

_Stefan frowned. "What is it?"_

_Claire focused her attention back on Stefan, ignoring Damon's continued creepiness. "The message is 'Watch your backs. There's a new vampire in town."_

_Elena inhaled sharply and Damon and Stefan instantly snapped to attention. Damon instinctively looked around them, making sure there was no one near enough to have caught the word. _

"_Who sent the message Claire?" Stefan hissed quietly, jumping to his feet. The girl looked alarmed at their reactions and took a frightened step backwards. _

"_I-I don't know," she stuttered, her eyes wide as Damon's blue eyes bored into her. _

"_She's been compelled," Damon muttered. Suddenly their relaxed evening was filled with tension. Couldn't all the evil things just leave them alone for while?_

"_Come on, we'll go back to the house," Stefan ordered, gently pulling Elena to her feet. The two brothers walked protectively on either side of her, looking around them as they went, as they marched from the grill. _

* * *

><p>"<em>What is all the noise about?" exclaimed Katherine in annoyance as she stalked into the living room of the boarding house. Damon, Stefan and Elena all turned to look at her, serious expressions on their faces. "Well?" she placed a hand on her hip and looked at them expectantly.<em>

"_We've got trouble," Damon said, marching over to the table and pouring himself a drink. He raised an empty glass in question to Katherine. She smiled an acceptance._

"_And is this witch, vampire or werewolf shaped trouble?" she sighed, taking the offered glass from Damon's hand. She threw a contemptuous look at Elena. "Or human shaped?" _

"_Vampire," replied Stefan, ignoring her rudeness to Elena. _

_Katherine slammed the empty glass down on a side table. "I'll go get my stake then," she said, smiling sweetly. _

"_Katherine this could be serious," scolded Stefan, frowning at her. _

"_Oh always so serious Stefan!" teased Katherine. Her joking smile disappeared at the sound of a loud crash from the front of the house. Everyone turned in unison towards the sound._

"_The front door," grunted Damon, grimacing. _

"_How can they get in?" demanded Elena in a panicked voice, looking frantically at Stefan. _

"_Oh who knows!" growled Damon in an exasperated voice. "It could be any number of vampires we befriended who turned out to be demons!" Stefan gave him a look that made it clear his sarcastic humour wasn't appreciated. Katherine smirked. _

_A pile of papers suddenly exploded next to them as a blur whirled around the room. The pages of white papers drifted down slowly around them, settling on the floor and furniture. Angrily Damon brushed one off as it landed on his head. _

_Katherine continued to grin in amusement, apparently completely nonchalant about the possibility of a threat. "Well you can wipe that smile off your face," muttered Damon grumpily as he kicked a few pages of paper, sending them whooshing back up into the air."It is most likely your trouble that is coming back to bite us."_

"_You bet your ass it is," said a different voice. They all spun around again towards the voice. They were met with the sight of Nadia, flanked by Eleanor and Henry on either side, one hand on her hip and a wicked grin on her face. _

_Slowly, a matching smile spread across Katherine's face. The anger faded from Damon's expression and he rolled his eyes and turned away, picking up his glass and plonking himself back down in his seat. _

_The three intruders clattered down the few steps and into the room. Eleanor took a cosy seat next to Damon, tinkling a bright laugh at his annoyed grunt._

_Nadia stepped up to Katherine._

"_Hello sister." _


End file.
